Tiny Tiramisu's - ICE February

Since coffee is the ingredient for this months Iron Cupcake Earth challenge I just had to make a cupcake version of tiramisu. I've made cupcake tiramisu's before and really enjoyed them, but this time I wanted to do something a little different. Since I was already making coffee flavored devil's food cupcakes for my first ICE entry I decided to make chocolate tiramisu cupcakes for my second entry. I also wanted them to be bite-size because that's just the kick I'm on!

Once the cupcakes were cool, I sliced them in half (try and be careful to keep the correct tops and bottoms together...they'll go back together easier this way) and brushed them with Frangelico and coffee. I brushed each piece twice but was careful not to soak them so they wouldn't get to soggy and fall apart. Next, I piped a small dollop of the mascarpone icing onto the bottoms. This is about when my mouth started to water!

Finally, I replaced the tops, added another dollop of icing and finished them with some grated dark chocolate. I must say, these came out almost cuter then I imagined and they taste fantastic. They are light and sweet and beautiful. They would be perfect for any black and white event or special occasion. I believe this is my new favorite. They don't take much more effort to make and they are well worth it, I highly recommend you try them! And now, I will shamelessly beg for your vote!

PLEASE

VOTE

FOR ME!

To vote for me go to http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ . Voting will commence on March 1 @ 8 PM (at the latest). The winner will receive an awesome prize package from the following...

Our February ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
DIANA EVANS - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5599270
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

As an added bonus for February, SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a variety of cupcaking supplies, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/ .

Tiny Tiramisu's

1 devil's food cake recipe ( 24 standard cupcakes or minis)

2 oz. fresh brewed dark coffee

1 oz. Frangelico liqueur

Mascarpone Icing (adapted from Shelly Kaldunski's Tiramisu Cupcakes)

1 lb. mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup Frangelico liqueur

1 tsp. vanilla

Whip ingredients together until it comes together and gets fluffy.

Bake cupcakes according to directions. Once cool slice each mini cupcake in half (standard size cupcakes cut in thirds) Mix coffee and Frangelico together and brush each side of the cupcake with the mix. Pipe a dollop of the mascarpone icing onto the bottoms and replace the tops. Add another dollop of icing and sprinkle with grated chocolate.

Coffee Cupcakes - ICE February

Since Tampa was recently voted the Nation's most caffeinated city it seemed only fitting that for my first Iron Cupcake Earth challenge the ingredient would be coffee. I will admit I am a slave to my coffee pot, I set it the night before and wake in the morning to it beeping letting me know that the "sweet nectar of the Gods" is ready. I truly don't feel I can fully function until I've had my coffee. Yes, I am addicted!!

For my first entry (yep that's right I will be entering more than just one cupcake) I made a simple coffee flavored devil's food cupcake that I then brushed with more coffee and iced with a coffee flavored buttercream. To make the coffee flavored devil's food I used my favorite devil's food recipe (I'm sure any chocolate cake would do just fine) and added instant espresso style coffee to the batter. Now I never drink instant coffee and don't pay much attention to it but when I saw this one marked "espresso" I knew it was the one I wanted. You see, one of the many Cuban influences on Tampa's culture can be found in Tampa's coffee. Cafe con Leche or Cuban Coffee are staples here in Tampa and pack a powerful caffeinated punch! Anyway, enough history...back to baking.

Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled I brushed the tops with black coffee ( I used Chock full o' Nuts which is what I drink daily). To make the icing I mixed the instant coffee with the milk for the recipe and then added it to the butter and powdered sugar. After tasting it I felt it needed a little more coffee so I added another tsp. straight to the icing. I like to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, I just think they're prettier that way, and since these were coffee cupcakes it seemed only appropriate that the icing be a little perky!

These cupcakes are so yummy! Chocolate and coffee go so well with each other that it's hard not to love these. The coffee flavor is not overwhelming but is definitely present. I actually had one with my cup of coffee the other day and dipped my cupcake (icing first) into the hot brew...OMG...heaven in a bite. These are perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up and since the icing is not a cooked buttercream they will freeze nicely so you can always have some on hand. I hope you will try these and enjoy as much as I have! We are not only competing for bragging rights but also for prizes ( a list of can be found below) so PLEASE vote for me by going to http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com/ . Voting will begin no later than March 1st at 8 PM.

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes

One recipe Devil's food cake (or your favorite chocolate cake recipe)
3 Tbsp. instant espresso style coffee ( I used Cafe Bustelo)
1/2 cup brewed coffee, black ( I used Chock Full Of Nuts)

Add instant espresso to the cake batter and mix well. Distribute batter evenly amongst paper lined cupcake pans filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for ~15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Brush the tops of each cupcake with the coffee using a pastry brush. Ice with coffee flavored buttercream.

Coffee Flavored Buttercream


1 stick unsalted butter (room-temp)
1/4 cup milk
4-6 Cups powdered sugar ( to desired consistency)
3 tsp. instant espresso style coffee ( I used Cafe Bustelo)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
small pinch of salt

Mix instant coffee with milk to dissolve crystals. Add coffee, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt to butter and cream until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.

The Sponsors

Our February ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

DIANAEVANS - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5599270
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!As an added bonus for February, SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a variety of cupcaking supplies, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers:

HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/ .

Cake is Love and Simple is Sweet

One of the guests from my mom's progressive dinner called me and asked for 3 dozen mini cupcakes for his wife for Valentine's day. Apparently, she loved the cupcakes from the party and had been asking about them. I was rather flattered by this and thrilled to get to make valentine cupcakes for them. After all cupcakes are a way better gift than a lame box of chocolates!

I made butter cake and devil's food cake with raspberry buttercream and butter cake with lemon buttercream. The pink color of the raspberry buttercream is beautiful and perfect for the occasion. It is super yummy and pairs very well with the lemon buttercream which is also delish!

Devil's Food with Raspberry Buttercream

you know you want to lick your screen!

My plans of an easy 10 AM delivery were foiled when last night I realized the cake box I had was too big and looked ridiculous so I had to run to JoAnn's this morning, which wouldn't have been that big of a deal if they really opened at 8:00 am like the web-site says. Anywho, love was in the air and I was not going to be discouraged so I went to Super-Wal Mart (which is surprisingly peaceful at 8 in the morning). While they didn't have the cake box I needed I was able to get ink for the printer and a valentine's balloon for Lexi which she loved. After another stop at Joann's I got the box I needed and managed to deliver the cupcakes on time! I hope she enjoyed them as much the 2nd time around.

Vanilla Cake with Lemon Buttercream

It's melt in your mouth good!

My day was made even sweeter when I arrived home and was surprised to find that my dear sweet husband had vacuumed, folded laundry, made the bed in the guest room, and loaded and started the dishwasher. I know, BEST Valentine's day present ever (you see I'm a simple girl no jewelry or flowers necessary just clean the house and I'm putty in your hands)! Since I didn't have a house to clean and I had quite a bit of left-over cupcakes I decided to finish icing those. In addition to the loads of cupcakes I had I also made one 6 inch cake of each flavor and layered them to make a chocolate-vanilla layer cake that I iced with a classic vanilla buttercream (pink of course) and decorated with mini chocolate chips. The only problem now is deciding which to eat first...


I hope you all had a sweet Valentine's day!


UP NEXT: I've joined Iron Cupcake Earth (see the logo on the side) and the flavor of the month is coffee. I'm so excited and already have a ton of ideas. I'll be posting on that by the 24th so come back and see me.

~Nicole~

M-I-C-K-E-Y * M-O-U-S-E

Come on sing along with me...anyone? Hello, anyone??? Okay maybe not. Well who doesn't love Mickey Mouse, I think everyone at some point in there life has watched the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. But as much as I do enjoy Mickey and all things Disney related ( I am from Florida!) I was a bit troubled when asked to do a Mickey Mouse themed cupcake tower. You see I'm a girly girl...pink, purple, swirly, sparkly, these are all things I am very comfortable with. I'm also not one to back down to a challenge so I gladly excepted this opportunity to step outside my comfort zone.

The soon to be cupcake tower was for a little boys 2nd birthday so I really wanted to make it special. To see a little person's eyes light up at the sight of their birthday cake is one of those moments as a parent you treasure so I truly enjoy being a part of that in my little cupcakey way. I decided early on primary colors and found some mondo sized confetti that I used to make cupcake picks. I also found a super cute Mickey candle at my local party store (I also saw it on-line). Now, up until yesterday I've never made red icing...and let me tell you it takes A LOT of food coloring to get it red. I expected this would be the case and bought a new jar of red food coloring ( I used a combination of Wilton's Christmas Red and Red (no-taste)) good thing because I used almost half the jar. It also took quit a bit of blue food coloring to achieve the shade I was after. And since I was already stepping outside the comfort zone I also decided to make a Mickey Mouse Silhouette out of red fondant to place on the front of the cake. Here are the results...I hope you enjoy them. Oh, they were vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream.

Next Up: I got a request for some Valentine's cupcakes and I'm hosting a Barbie play date so I'm sure I'll have something fun to share from that!